About 40% of PHL schools lack sanitation, toilet facilities

About 40% of public schools in the Philippines lack proper handwashing facilities and designated toilets for girls and boys, according to social business SATO Philippines.

“This could cause huge risks. Children get sick from dirty water, and young girls miss school every month because they don’t have privacy,” SATO Philippines Leader Akhito Shimojo told BusinessWorld in a virtual interview.

“We need to close this infrastructure gap immediately to protect our learners,” he added.

Data from the Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) in 2024 showed that about two-thirds of the poorest Filipinos still lack access to basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) facilities.

It added that up to 50% of the population, including children under five, drinks “surface water” or unsafe water in some municipalities of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and Region IV-B.

With poor WASH conditions and practices, children are at risk of waterborne diseases, such as diarrhea. The local statistics agency noted that diarrhea and gastroenteritis of presumed infectious origin ranked as the 26th leading cause of death last year, accounting for over 2,000 deaths nationwide.

In 2019, PIDS noted that poor WASH practices cause 86% of diarrhea-related deaths in the country. Of these fatalities, 35% were children under the age of five.

According to Mr. Shimojo, gaps in sanitation and hygiene infrastructures are directly linked to students’ academic performances.

“Schools in crowded cities or remote villages have the worst toilet and water,” Mr. Shimojo said. “The kids who need learning recovery the most are the ones getting sick.”

“We cannot solve the learning crisis without solving the school health crisis, even with the best textbooks,” he added.

Based on the Comprehensive Rapid Literacy Assessment (CRLA), EDCOM 2 earlier reported that 41.47% of students nationwide are struggling readers. Of these, 2,243,059 students are under Key Stage 1, or learners from Kindergarten to Grade 3.

“We talk a lot about catching up on reading in the mass, but the reality is very simple – you cannot teach on empty chairs,” he said.

“When a student misses school because of a stomach illness or UTI, they fall behind,” he added. “If kids are too sick to sit at their desks, we cannot achieve our goals.”

The SATO Philippines executive underscored that better facilities lead to higher classroom attendance and performance. “When children spend more consecutive days in class, their grades naturally go up.”

“With safe private toilets, girls don’t miss crucial lessons or exams during their periods,” he added. “When attendance is stable, teachers can finally finish their catch-up program successfully.”

SATO Philippines has partnered with the Department of Education (DepEd) and deployed over 11,700 handwashing devices across 587 schools, benefiting about 117,000 students in Luzon and Visayas. It also aims to expand into Mindanao to serve learners better.

“Any place is a place we can work with, because if there is a need, we would like to work with local segments,” Mr. Shimojo said. “We are ready to expand our product nationwide.” — Almira Louise S. Martinez